Just found out about the new APTERA electric vehicle (EV). It's the FUTURE of EV!

Been seriously thinking about getting an electric vehicle, also known as an EV.  Sure, there are hybrid vehicles out there, the Toyota Prius, the BMW i2.  But in my humble opinion, they are not aesthetically appealing AND the electric aspect of it doesn't really provide the mileage I'm looking for.  The Tesla models are really nice looking, are pure EV's (meaning no gasoline required & great for the planet), and the high end model S can deliver about 370 miles on a single charge but you'll have to pay a premium in upwards of $100K.  I also like the fact that the Tesla S accelerates from 0-60 MPH in 3.2 seconds.  I can definitely attest to this as I was one of three passengers who experienced its phenomenal acceleration.   FYI my friend "floored it" on District Blvd here in Bakersfield after a night of beers at Buffalo Wild Wings...I was literally blown away!

But I recently discovered a new EV that looked like something out of an old cartoon, The Jetsons.  It had initially generated a ton of excitement back in the mid-2000s touting 100 miles per charge, but the company eventually went bankrupt.  Well, IT'S BACK!  It's called the APTERA and if you're interested in the latest in EV advancements, I encourage you to check out their new site https://www.aptera.us

It's a 3-wheel vehicle and to be honest, it looks like a plane cockpit on wheels!  Love it or hate it, it's definitely aerodynamic and has the lowest drag coefficient of any vehicle on the planet.  What does that mean?  And this is the kicker...the APTERA can go 1000 miles on a single charge!  Also, it'll be well equipped with all the latest technology, including bluetooth and self-driving capability.  APTERA Motors is proposing an initial price of between $35-50K but that could change based on further research and development.  I doubt it will cost more than any EV on the market since it only has 10 key parts compared to 300 parts typical on current EV models.  In addition, the website does not specifically tell you its maximum speed but in the following video with former Tonight Show host, Jay Leno, he was cruising in it at a comfortable 70 miles/hr https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrQqCLRXl2w  I can live with that!  Another benefit to owning an APTERA is that your monthly insurance premium will be about what you pay for a motorcycle.  Nice!

If you're interested in investing in this car of the future, be sure to read all about it on their website and at https://wefunder.com/aptera

FVYDID MUSIC ACADEMY! Learn from one of the BEST DJ's/producers/music marketing specialists I know!

Jack Lozeron aka JackEL and I have collaborated on music since 2017.  Our songs have been streamed over 2.4 millions times on Spotify, including 1 million streams in 2018 alone, and I highly recommend his services to take your career to the next level.  He's very knowledgeable in all areas of the music business, from pre-production to music marketing.  If you're just starting out as an independent artist, or your career is stagnant, be sure to hit him up and get your career on the right track!

JackEL is based out of Las Vegas, NV and you can reach him on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/OfficialJackEL/ and https://www.facebook.com/jackelozeron  

5G will be the next tech revolution! The FASTEST internet with NO lag time, self-driving cars, surgery performed from across the globe, and MORE!

Have you heard about 5G? If you don't all ready know, it's the next BIG revolution in technology.  Like the invention of the steam engine, electricity, computers & smart phones, 5G will take technology to new heights. Think better & faster cell phone/laptop performance including video streaming & gaming, self-driving vehicles & accident prevention, synchronizing all of your home appliances to perform tasks such as waking you up in the morning, preparing your coffee, ordering food items that you're running low on, surgery performed from across the the globe?!  AND this is just the tip of the iceberg! 

Check out this YouTube clip which explains the potential of the 5G network, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MC_Sfkh5-zQ

One company is at the forefront of the 5G technology revolution with over 49K patents.  They recently inked deals with AT&T, Verizon, & their technology is being considered to replace existing iPhone hardware/software.  Also, many investors are quietly investing billions of dollars in this company. The company is Ericsson https://www.ericsson.com/en and it's currently trading at less than $8/share. That may change very soon so all you savvy investors out there, do your due diligence & consider investing in this company soon, preferably before their big announcement on Oct. 17, 2019. 

As promised, here is my latest release HOURGLASS feat BREANA MARIN!

About Hourglass feat Breana Marin

“The song is about a deep infatuation when you first meet someone special, and the pursuit or "chase" involved in getting to know that someone on a deeper level.  Sometimes you don't have the words to express how you feel, when only a song will do…”  

Music produced by Breana Marin @itsbreanamarin on IG & Mantra @BeatsByMantra on IG. Hook by Breana Marin & Love Pulse Music @lovepulsemusic on IG.  Lyrics & vocals by Breana Marin, official site https://breanamarin.com, & DL Moreno @dlmorenomusic on IG.  Mixed & mastered by Dave Fore, official site https://davefore.com & @iamdavefore on IG.  Album art by anonymous and DL Moreno.

Here is the YouTube video link for Hourglass feat Breana Marin (explicit version), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQNhTH_wyPE

Hourglass feat Breana Marin is available NOW at https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/dlmoreno/hourglass-feat-breana-marin

so be sure to get your copy, add it to your playlists, share it with your family and friends.

Thanks and hope you enjoy it!

Will the new ElectroSpit ESX-1 mobile talkbox replace the traditional Talkbox made famous by Roger & Zapp?

In my quest for finding start-up business ventures to invest in, I found this new technology that could possibly revolutionize the music business. It's called the "Electrospit" and was created by co-founders Bosko and Maya Kante.  Bosko is a Grammy winning producer, talkbox artist, and holds a BA in Mechanical Engineering from USC.  Bosko also performed with Kanye West at the American Music Awards in 2004.  Maya is a business strategist who holds a BA in Sociology from UC Berkley.

Here's Bosko's description of the "Electrospit" in a nutshell:

"The device works by first connecting a mobile phone using the ESX-1 companion app, or any guitar, synthesizer, or keyboard through an audio input. The ESX-1, using its built-in amplifier and magnetic vocal projectors, sends sound in the pitch of the user’s choosing through the neck of the user, allowing them to control the shape and frequency of the sound with their mouth. The lightweight, durable device does not require the cumbersome tube or additional amplifier of legacy talkboxes."

The Talkbox sound was first introduced in the early 1970's by famous guitarists/singers Peter Frampton and Pete Townsend (The Who), but gained momentum in the 1980's by Roger & Zapp's adoption of it and/or making it their signature sound.  No one will ever forget the Talkbox sound in their mega-hit "More Bounce To The Ounce" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_IPV2zeDIc
The Talkbox is still used today by artists MC Magic and Southern Cali's Magic Girl.  The Talkbox also influenced the "autotune" sound made famous by Kanye West, vastly used by hip-hop and R&B artists today.

Here's a short video of the "Electrospit ESX-1" mobile talkbox, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XduZSfvI11c

If you'd like to read more about the "Electrospit ESX-1" mobile talkbox and/or are interested in investing in this breakthrough technology, follow the MicroVentures link at https://app.microventures.com/crowdfunding/electrospit

For my son & other artists just getting started in the Business of Music!

Let me first comment on the image above, "SUPPORT INDEPENDENT MUSIC, IF YOU LIKE IT, BUY IT."  Of course I whole-heartedly agree with this statement but would add, "...STREAM IT, ADD IT TO YOUR PLAYLISTS, SHARE IT WITH YOUR FRIENDS ON SOCIAL MEDIA..." and so on.  Most independent artists have spent lots of time and their own MONEY to get their music heard, gain fans and have their music appreciated.  But I assume those same artists would want to at least break even, or better yet, see some sort of rate of return on the money they spent to promote themselves.  Wouldn't you?  Enough about that.

So, my son approached me the other day asking me to make a beat for him so he could record some vocals and make a song.  He said he wanted to submit it to a popular podcast and he was sure it would "HIT!"  He brought in his laptop, music production hardware that was gifted to him a couple of years ago which he had no idea how to use (and I was unfamiliar with as well), and expected me to produce a track on the spot.  I love my my son and would do anything for him, but I explained to him that it wasn't going to be that easy.  I further explained that I all ready have a music software program I work with for my vocals, not so much for making "beats" any more.  We continued our discussion for a few more minutes, it was getting late but I let him know I would definitely help him out.

Being an independent artist has been a difficult journey.  Be ready to accept criticism.  Sometimes the criticism is constructive but beware of those "haters" out there who'd like nothing more than to see you fail.  There have been times when I wanted to just give up.  I've spent many hours, thousands of dollars, and learned a lot of what not to do.  But through trial and error, I learned what has worked for me and I want to share some things I've learned that may help further your music careers.

Unless you're already an accomplished music producer/beat maker, I highly recommend you lease or buy your beats.  Leasing is a great way to start, it's a relatively inexpensive way to obtain a beat.  You won't outright "own" the rights unless you request to buy the "exclusive rights", but you'll at least have a great sounding instrumental to work with.  The format of the track you receive will be MP3, WAV, and you can also request "stems" so that your sound engineer can produce the best possible sounding mix/mastered track for you.  Here are a few sites where you can lease beats from professional music producers:

https://www.beatbrokerz.com

https://www.beatstars.com

https://www.soundclick.com

Once you have your beat, where to record?  You can take your beat with you to a local studio to record your vocals which could easily cost you hundreds of dollars.  Or do what I did, buy your own music production software and record from home.  You'll also need a microphone you can connect to your computer.  I'd also recommend getting a microphone isolation shield and a "pop blocker."  It may take some time to learn how to use the software but it will also increase your skillset and save you tons of money in the long run.  I personally use Logic Pro X but Ableton is great too.  

https://www.apple.com/logic-pro/

https://www.ableton.com/en/

Once you've recorded your song, DO NOT RELEASE IT as-is!  You'll need to get it professionally mixed and mastered.  If you're recording at a studio, you can ask the engineer to provide you with a mixed/mastered song.  I only know of one person who I trust to transform my track into a radio-ready song, and that's Dave Fore.  For more information on how to contact Dave, please refer to my previous post regarding this Billboard charting sound engineer.

http://davefore.com

Once you have a single that is ready for release, you'll want to submit it through an intermediary music distribution service that will be able to get it distributed through Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, Napster, Pandora, Google Play, etc.  I currently use Distrokid since it costs approximately $20 per year to distribute unlimited number of tracks.  I've also used Tunecore in the past but the cost is approximately $10 to upload one track, and if you're one of those prolific writers, submitting your music could get expensive.  Both services will get your music out there for fans to buy and/or stream your music online.

https://distrokid.com

https://www.tunecore.com

Once the music distribution service has received the "thumbs up" for your song to "go live" from online stores, you'll receive your UPC and ISRC codes.  You'll need the codes to register your music so that you are eligible to receive royalties when your song is played.  Make sure you register as an artist with BMI, ASCAP, or other service that keeps track of music royalties, before you start registering your songs.  If you've obtained "exclusive rights" to the song, I suggest copyrighting it with the U.S. Copyright office.  If you are anticipating FM and online radio airplay, make sure you also register your track with Nielsen and Mediabase.  Refer to the links below.

https://www.bmi.com

https://www.ascap.com

https://www.soundexchange.com

for exclusive rights songs, https://www.copyright.gov
https://media.bdsrealtime.com/ve/
http://www.musicinfosystems.com/faq/index.asp

Now it's time to start promoting your single.  First thing you should do is upload it to all of your music and social media pages so that your fans can stream it.  If you don't all ready have one, make sure you have a Soundcloud page, a ReverbNation page, a YouTube channel, and of course, you should be promoting your track on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and other popular social media sites.  In addition, there are some sites where you can promote and/or upload your music.  I found a site called Hypeddit that has a music exchange with other artists to help build your fanbase.  You can get email addresses using Hypeddit to send your fans updates, so be sure you also create a Mail Chimp account too.  If you want to get it directly to DJ's, I recommend you upload your song to Digital DJ Pool and DemoDrop.  Both are free to use and work very well.  You want to get your song on as many playlists as possible so be sure you submit your song through Soundplate.  Another way to get your song in the hands of playlist curators and music bloggers is SubmitHub, though they are highly selective.  Don't get discouraged if your single is declined because you may get some great feedback in the process.  One last recommendation, if you have a budget of at least $1K or more and are looking for radio airplay, I recommend Hale Promotions internet radio promotion campaign.  Raymond Hale is the owner and he'll evaluate your song to see if it's one that he can promote.  He does not accept all songs but it's worth a try.  With his 3-month internet radio promotion campaign, I was able to get my single Savage featuring Trey Songz to the top of the Digital Radio Tracker charts!

https://hypeddit.com
https://mailchimp.com/

https://digitaldjpool.com

https://demodrop.com

http://www.halepromo.com

https://www.submithub.com

https://soundplate.com

In conclusion, this is not a complete and comprehensive DIY guide for independent artists.  However, it is a compilation of knowledge and resources I've acquired over the years.  I believe the information here will help increase your music business knowledge and avoid some of the mistakes I made along the way.  Best of luck to you all!

Are you an artist & want to work with a BILLBOARD charting audio engineer? Dave Fore is your guy!

No, it's not Donald Trump, LOL!  It's my friend Dave Fore, audio engineer extraordinaire!  Although his Facebook profile photo (above) is anything but, he takes his craft very serious.  He's a 5X Billboard charting engineer whose worked with major recording artists, including Compton AV featuring Snoop Dogg, Baby Bash, Big Tray Deee feat XZIBIT, country recording artists The LACS, the list goes on.  Amazingly, Dave played a major role in helping his artists rack up 100 Million+ streams in 2018 alone!  He also mixed and mastered my single, Savage feat. Trey Songz, which was #3 on the Digital Radio Tracker Top 150 Independent Chart and #9 on the Digital Radio Tracker Top 50 R&B/Hip-hop Chart in May 2017.  Dave is also a voting member of the Grammys.

I first met Dave in the mid 1990's at Pound4Pound Studios in Delano, CA.  He was part of a talented team of producers/engineers which included Rick Natividad (retired) and DJ Eric "the Insane Mixaken" Tapia.  As far as I can remember, Rick and Eric made the beats, Dave was in charge of mixing/mastering them.  Not sure if Dave knows this, but the demo Dave and the crew produced for my brother and me (we were a Christian hip-hop duo called C.O.G) prompted Ron Fair, VP of A&R at RCA Records, to reach out to me.  Mr. Fair said he liked what he heard and would be forwarding it to someone at his label who handled the Christian music genre.  Never heard back from Capitol Records but that interaction with him has motivated me to continue to make music to this day.  And I must add that had it not been for Dave and his team's help on that demo, I don't believe Mr. Fair would have ever contacted me at all.  A few years later after I heard from Mr. Fair, he signed multi-platinum recording artist Christina Aguilera https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Fair

In closing, if you're serious about taking your music to the next level I whole-heartedly recommend Dave Fore's services!  And make sure you have a budget in mind, his time is very valuable and he doesn't work for free.  You can contact him via his official website at http://davefore.com/ Be sure to follow him on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/iamdavefore/ and at Facebook too at https://www.facebook.com/iamdavefore

How much money are your favorite artists really making on Spotify, YouTube, etc??

Have you ever wondered how much your favorite
artists earn on music streaming platforms like
Spotify and YouTube?  It used to be that artists made
their money from the sale of albums, 8-track and
cassette tapes, CDs, etc.  Most of you probably
never even heard of an 8-track or cassette, am I right?!
With the advance of technology, music went from
an album you bought at the local record store to
a virtual file you purchase in an online store.  So much has
changed the way we buy and listen to music.  It was inevitable
that the music industry had to change too.
Enter Napster, YouTube, Spotify and all the rest...

I found an interesting article, "Music Streaming Services: Royalty
Payouts in 2019" by EDMTUNES.  Here's a link if you'd
like to check it out, https://www.edmtunes.com/2018/12/music-streaming-services-royalty-payouts-in-2019/  According to the article, music streaming services pay artists the following, from highest to lowest payouts:
1.  Napster pays $0.019 per stream
2.  Tidal pays $0.0125 per stream
3.  Apple pays $0.00735 per stream
4.  GooglePlay music pays $0.00676 per stream
5.  Deezer pays $0.0064 per stream
6.  Spotify pays $0.00437 per stream
7.  Amazon pays $0.00402 per stream
8.  Pandora pays $0.00133 per stream
9.  YouTube pays $0.00069 per stream

Just for kicks and giggles, I wanted to see how Taylor Swift fared
with just one of her songs, You Need To Calm Down,
on YouTube and Spotify.

Taylor Swift's You Need To Calm Down on YouTube
118,000,000 views x $0.00069/view = $81,420

Taylor Swift's You Need To Calm Down on Spotify
163,540,706 streams x $0.00437/stream = $719,043

Not too bad for one song on 2 music platforms which pay the least amount to artists.
I would have crunched the numbers for You Need To Calm Down on
all the rest of the music streaming platforms but I wasn't able to get the data.
Suffice it to say, Ms. Swift is doing very well for herself just in music streaming alone.
I didn't even mention what she earns from
all of her sold out shows, her multi-platinum record sales, endorsements, etc.

According to an article in the LA Times on August 20, 2019,
"Two years ago, on demand streaming platforms
like Spotify and Apple counted for 54% of total music
consumption in the U.S, according to Nielsen music.
In 2019, that share is up to 80%."  https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/music/story/2019-08-20/taylor-swift-lover-streaming-spotify
There's no doubt that the game has definitely
changed when it comes to how we get our music now as opposed to
back in the "good old days."  With the digital age,
music sound quality is better than before and it's cheaper for
consumers due to affordable monthly music streaming
subscriptions with almost unlimited access to music.
Although artists aren't selling as many "albums" as before, and even with the
fractions of pennies being paid to the artist per song stream as in my above example,
artists like Taylor Swift are not starving by any means!
 

Time to put your $$$ to work! And WIN! Don't miss out, there's still time...

Most of us work a 9-to-5, 40-hr job.  Possibly some overtime so we can afford those little extras.  Or maybe you put in your 25-30-35 years, retired and are on a fixed income.  Where does all the money go??  House or rent payment, car payment, maybe go out to dinner or a movie once in a while.  But one things for sure, we all have lots of BILLS with little to nothing left over!  Believe me, I've searched long and hard for legitimate ways to make more money, and most times nothing ever panned out.  Until about a year ago.  I decided to put my degree in Business Economics to work, which I had pretty much abandoned for years.

First place I looked was in the precious metals market. Precious metals include gold, silver, platinum, you get the picture.  Why?  Precious metals are, for the most part, recession proof and a tangible asset, something you can touch unlike stocks.  Now if you have the means, gold is a great bet!  As of today 8-17-19, gold is trading at $1513/oz.  At a minimum, gold continues to hold it's value, and some investors are saying that it may go as high as $40,000/oz due to market changes, https://www.fxstreet.com/analysis/its-time-to-get-serious-about-silver-201908141424
If you don't have $1500+ to spend, which most of us don't, do you have an extra $17 to spare?  That's what silver is currently trading at...actually, it's trading at $17.13/oz as of today...and is positioned to grow leaps and bounds (see the above link to It's Time To Get Serious About Silver).  FYI I transferred my County retirement account about a year ago to a silver IRA (individual retirement account) when silver was at $15/oz.  The County investment wasn't doing me any good growing at a mere 1% ROR (rate of return).  I could do better putting my money in a savings account at the bank, etc.  However, I decided to look elsewhere and found the precious metals market.  And some market experts are saying silver could go as high as $100/oz, and according to the above article silver could go even higher ($175-250/oz).

Why silver??  I know is hasn't grown much since I made the transfer, but it WILL!  Again, I refer you to the above link for a detailed explanation.  But the short of it is, silver mining is declining worldwide, yet silver demand is growing in a major way!  I'm sure you learned something about the law of supply and demand in high school, the law of demand says "the quantity of a good demanded falls as the price rises."  Two examples of what's happening with silver demand.  As of 2020, all new homes in California will require solar panels, of which silver is a main component.  Second, China is the world's largest market for solar energy and they are not slowing down anytime soon https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_power_in_China Those are just two examples, I encourage you to search on your own to find out more about the growth potential for silver, and how you can make some serious money with silver.

Bottom line, do your research but I highly recommend you buy silver NOW before you miss out.  Make sure you buy silver from a legitimate source.  I say this because you want to make sure the silver you are buying is pure silver, not a mix of silver and other metals. I bought my silver from Lear Capital but there are other places you can buy from as well.

Good luck!  I'll post other financial opportunities for you to review and possibly invest in later on...

I'm always on the lookout for incredible music of various genres for my Spotify playlists.   I was fortunate enough to be sent a single called SATISFY ME from a new band called The Unfits.  I wasn't given too much information about the band so I searched Google to see if they had an official website but couldn't find one.  The only information I was given was that SATISFY ME was produced by Emil Haynie, producer of Kanye West and Adele.  Cool!  I really enjoyed the song's ethereal intro which transitioned into a catchy hook.  SATISFY ME has potential to do well and will fit nicely in a pop and EDM oriented genre radio format or playlist.  Be sure to check out SATISFY ME on Spotify at
https://open.spotify.com/track/60wMiIhXXdMwgdUwlbx420?si=qNH2CGVFS3Cf3jWbG42l5w
AND add it to your Spotify playlists.  It was definitely a good fit for my GrindnShine Vol 2 playlist on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4mt6GesuFBafdRMIc5MJcN?si=LcaD6RAoSdCqyZagrWZk6w
You can also follow them on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/theunfits/ 

Coming soon, my new single with Breana Marin!

I'm very excited to announce that BREANA MARIN will be singing the hook for my next single.  You may not know her by name but I'm sure you know of some of the multi-platinum artists and producer she's worked with, including Keyshia Cole, Brandy, Fifth Harmony, and producer Rodney "Dark Child" Jenkins. Breana has such an incredible, soulful voice that has been described as "velvety smooth vocals influenced heavily by Sade."  I couldn't agree more!  I don't want to give you the name of the next single just yet, but I do want to let you know it will have an EDM-hiphop vibe that I'm sure you're going to love!

Here's a link to a YouTube video Breana made to describe her process when writing and recording  hooks for songs:

https://youtu.be/a6UYOzpUqW8

If you're an independent artist and want to collaborate with Breana Marin, be sure to connect with her on her official site https://breanamarin.com